4.3 Making Predictions, Inferences
and Connections About Characters
Subject: ESL
Length: 5 weeks
Stage 1 - Desired Results
Unit Summary
In this unit, students will analyze characters from stories and pictures using effective strategies of good
readers: making inferences, predictions and connections.
Content Standards and Learning Expectations
Listening/Speaking
L/S.4.1 Listens and responds during a read aloud from a variety of narrative texts to comprehend and
identify main character and setting.
Reading
R.4.4 Identifies the main character(s), compares and contrasts character traits, and identifies setting
within narrative and expository text
R.4.5 Uses story organization of beginning, middle, and end to identify sequence within narrative and
expository text; makes predictions and connections.
Writing
W.4.3 Uses appropriate grammar and mechanics to write complete declarative, interrogative,
imperative, and exclamatory sentences; identifies the parts of speech correctly.
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings:
• Making connections to what we read helps
us understand who we are.
• Writers make characters come alive using
descriptive text.
• Authors create text patterns and make word
choices that help readers better understand
the text.
Essential Questions:
• What can I learn about myself from stories and
pictures?
• How does a character come alive?
• How does the author’s story-organization and
word choice help the reader understand a
story?
Content (Students will know…)
• Character traits (hero and villain)
• Strategies of effective readers (i.e.
connections, predictions, inferences)
• Parts of speech (i.e. adjectives)
• Four sentence types (declarative,
interrogative, imperative and exclamatory)
Content Vocabulary
• Main character
• Character traits
• Prediction
• Inference
• Connection
• Adjectives
Skills (Students will be able to…)
• Listen and respond during a read-aloud from a
variety of narrative texts to comprehend and
identify main character
• Identify the main character(s)
• Make inferences to compare and contrast
character traits (i.e. between characters or
between character and self)
• Make predictions and connections (i.e.
predictions about what will happen next in a
story, connections between characters in
fiction and self)
• Use appropriate grammar and mechanics to
write complete declarative, interrogative,
imperative and exclamatory sentences
June 2011
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4.3 Making Predictions, Inferences
and Connections About Characters
Subject: ESL
Length: 5 weeks
Stage 2 - Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
Character Posters
Part 1: Pre-Reading
• Give students Alphabet Chart (See
Attachment: 4.3 Performance Task - Alphabet
Chart) and the topic, “Hairs.” Ask them what
words come to mind when they think of this
topic. Have them place each word in the
correct box and share answers with the class.
For example the word “curly” will go in the
“C-D” box.
• Tell students that they will now read a story
titled Hairs. Ask students what they think the
story is about based on the title and the
words that they gathered in the alphabet
chart. Record students’ answers on the
board.
• Explain to students that they just made
predictions about the text. Present to
students the definition of “prediction.” Post
the definition of “prediction” on the board:
Prediction is a reading strategy that efficient
readers use to develop ideas about what to
expect next in the text. They modify their
expectations as they obtain additional
information while reading. When the text
suddenly stops making sense, good readers
go back and re-read. Making predictions
becomes automatic to good readers, but it is
a skill that can be taught and developed.
Part 2: Reading
• Read the story Hairs aloud (See Attachment:
4.3 Text – Hairs), pausing to clarify any new
vocabulary. Ask students to describe the
different characters presented in the story.
Part 3: Character Organizers
• Have students work in small groups and have
them illustrate the mother character in Hairs
on a character organizer (See Attachment:
4.3 Graphic Organizer – Blank Character
Map).
• Make sure that they use the descriptions in
the story to help them illustrate the figure. In
the illustration, have them write sentences
June 2011
Other Evidence:
• Journal Writing: Have students create a journal
entry where they make text-to-self
connections (can be used as closing to poster
assessment). Review “text-to-self connections”
(See Attachment: 4.3 Other Evidence –
Making Connections Prompts)
• Order of Adjectives quiz (See Attachment: 4.3
Other Evidence – Order of Adjectives Quiz)
• Identifying adjectives quiz (See Attachment:
4.3 Other Evidence – Identifying Adjectives
Quiz)
• Quiz on the different types of sentences (See
Attachment: 4.3 Other Evidence – Different
Sentence Types Quiz)
• Fluency Running Records and Paired Fluency
Checks (See Attachment: 4.3 Other Evidence –
Paired Fluency Check)
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4.3 Making Predictions, Inferences
and Connections About Characters
Subject: ESL
Length: 5 weeks
describing what the mother would say.
Example: “Dear, do you want me to give you
a hug?”
Part 4: Share
• Have each group present its poster to the
class to be assessed based on their
understanding of the character traits of the
mother.
Using Visual Clues to Make Inferences About
Character Traits
• Step 1: Introduce what the word “inference”
means: Making an inference is using clues
from the text and your own knowledge and
experience to figure out what the author is
trying to tell you.
• Step 2: Give a comic strip to students and ask
them to infer the dialogue that is taking place
between the two characters in the comic
strip (See Attachment: 4.3 Performance Task
– Making Inference Comic Strip 1).
• Step 3: Have students work in pairs as they
create the dialogue for the comic strip. After
everyone has completed the dialogue, have
each pair read their dialogue aloud to the
class.
• Step 4: Discuss with the class that although
each pair had a different dialogue, each one
is correct (i.e. each pair may have had
different knowledge and experience
regarding the activity that the characters in
the comic strip were performing and each
pair may have taken different clues from the
text).
• Step 5: Provide a second comic strip to each
student and ask them to repeat the same
activity with the new comic strip (See
Attachment: 4.3 Performance Task – Making
Inference Comic Strip 2)
• Step 6: Have each student present his/her
dialogue to the class.
Making Connections
• Step 1: Explain to students that they will
compare and contrast a hero from a movie to
someone in their life whom they consider
their hero.
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4.3 Making Predictions, Inferences
and Connections About Characters
Subject: ESL
Length: 5 weeks
• Step 2: Tell students that they will use a Venn
diagram graphic organizer to compare the
two heroes or heroines (See Attachment: 4.3
Graphic Organizer – Venn Diagram)
• Step 3: Teacher may brainstorm a list of
heroes or heroines with the class, from which
they can choose. Possible examples:
Superman, Supergirl, Spiderman, Incredible
Hulk, Wonder Woman, Elektra, etc. Explain to
students that the super hero or heroine in
their life may not look exactly like the super
hero or heroine in their lives; however, the
qualities of the heroes/heroines are what
they are using to compare and contrast in
this activity.
• Step 4: Have students share their work with
the class. You may want to use a gallery walk
to have students share their work. Have
students post their work around the room.
During a Gallery Walk, students explore
multiple texts or images that are placed
around the room. You may want to give
students sticky notes that they can use to
give feedback to the class. For example, ask
students to write something on their sticky
note that they like about the work of another
student.
Stage 3 - Learning Plan
Learning Activities
Inferences & Predictions
• Introduce inferences by showing students a visual text and asking them what they think is
happening in the text (See Attachment: 4.3 Other Evidence - Making Inference Visual 1).
• Introduce predictions using visual texts (See Attachment: 4.3 Other Evidence - Making Inference
Visual 2)
• Have students compare and contrast predictions and inferences using the “think/pair/share”
strategy
• Use photos from magazines or newspapers and have students make predictions or inferences
based on the images
• Use stories with illustrations and have students write sentences to describe them, by inferring what
the picture describes
• Have students play a game where they have to make inferences (See Attachments: 4.3 Learning
Activity - Inferring Card Game and 4.3 Learning Activity - Inferring Card Game Rules). You can use
the format of this game to create your own game on making predictions and connections.
June 2011
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4.3 Making Predictions, Inferences
and Connections About Characters
Subject: ESL
Length: 5 weeks
Parts of Speech
• Give students a list of adjectives and a list of pictures showing everyday activities. Ask students to
create sentences describing the pictures using the adjectives. To extend the activity, you can also
have students create different types of sentences to describe the same picture. For example, “The
woman is attractive.” (declarative sentence). “Is the woman attractive?” (interrogative sentence)
(See Attachment: 4.3 Learning Activity – Adjectives to Describe Everyday Situations)
• Have students copy the following sentences into their notebook, underline the adjectives and draw
an arrow to each adjective’s modifier.
o A green dragon climbed into the dark castle and kidnapped the beautiful, sleeping princess.
o A giant, fuzzy spider was crawling in Chad’s hair.
o The tall, handsome boy wearing a brown leather jacket walked into the math classroom and
smiled at Denise.
o This European inventor hoped to make a usable, permanent photograph.
o It was a black, white, and gray version of the window view.
• Have students underline the adjectives in a piece of text from a book or magazine article. Then
have them rewrite the paragraph without the adjectives and describe the differences between the
two paragraphs to understand why adjectives make writing better.
Sentence Types
• Write a dialogue with a group of three or four based on vocabulary that uses all four sentence
types & act it out (See Attachment: 4.3 Performance Task - Write a Dialogue)
• Perform the dialogue, reading the dialogue with fluency, gestures, and intonation to reflect the
sentence type
• So Many Questions Please: Have students work in pairs and ask them to discuss their favorite book
or TV show using only questions or exclamations. Discuss with students how difficult it is to have a
conversation using only one type of sentence.
Sample Lessons
• Lesson on teaching prediction: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lessonplans/action-character-exploring-character-175.html?tab=4#tabs
• Lesson on making connections using double entry journal:
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/ lesson-plans/guided-comprehensionmaking-connections-228.html?tab=4#tabs
Additional Resources
• Useful activities to teach different types of sentences (See Attachment: 4.3 Resource – Different
Sentence Types)
• Activities for making inferences (See Attachment: 4.3 Resource – Making Inferences)
• Useful resource for making inferences with text and with new words (See Attachment: 4.3
Resource – Making Inferences 2)
• Gallery Walk resources (See Attachment: 4.3 Resource – Gallery Walks)
• Character trait resources (See Attachments: 4.3 Resource – List of Character Traits, 4.3 Resource –
Identifying Character Traits, and 4.3 Resource – Identifying Character Traits Worksheet)
Literature Connections
• Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
• Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
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Adapted from Understanding By Design by Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe